Esquilline Necropolis

As evident by the name, the Esquiline Necropolis was a prehistoric necropolis located on Esquiline Hill, and it housed around 200 tombs that can be approximately dated as early as the 7th century and as late as the the 3rd century based on the ways in which they were culturally and aesthetically influenced. 

This well-known fresco was found in the Tomb of the Fabii during an excavation in 1875 and can be dated back to the 3rd century BC. Painted on plaster, this four-registered fresco depicts the sieges of cities and the delivery of military decorations, as believed to be related to either the second or third Samnite War. There are two central figures present in the second and third registers that have been identified by the inscriptions on the fresco itself—Quintus Fabius and M. Fannius. Q. Fabius was regarded as a renowned Samnite general, consul, and allegedly the tomb’s owner and in the third register, he is seen in a toga, extending an object in his hand to M. Fannius, who is dressed in a loincloth and golden preaves. In the second register, Q. Fabius and M. Fannius appear again but this time, M. Fannius extends his hand to Q. Fabius, who is now holding a spear. According to ancient sources, scholars have reason to believe that this fresco may have been painted by Q. Fabius Pictor, who was an artist and member of the gens Fabii who was active in Rome during the 4th and 3rd centuries BC. 

In terms of the ceramics found at the site, they were dated to around the 4th-3rd centuries BC and are black glazed pottery—most likely of the Campanian type. This type of pottery was prolific in central and southern Italy starting from the late 4th century to the middle of the 1st century BC, and they were used for eating and drinking, for libation rituals, and for making dedications and offerings at sanctuaries and tombs. 

22181A130.tif
22181A132.tif
22181A156.tif

Sources: 

  1. Davies, Penelope J E, and H W Janson. Janson’s History of Art. Upper Saddle River N.H. ; London, Prentice Hall, 2012.
  2. Boyer, Johanna. “The Hidden Treasures of Rome.” Annual of the Museum of Art and Archaeology, vol. 49, 2015, pp. 39–89, mospace.umsystem.edu/xmlui/bitstream/handle/10355/83673/muse2015v49p39-53.pdf?sequence=1. 
  3. Mogetta, Marcello, et al. “Roman Black-Gloss Pottery from the Capitoline Museums at the University of Missouri.” Annual of the Museum of Art and Archaeology, vol. 50, 2016, pp. 33–44, rometheimperialfora19952010.files.wordpress.com/2018/05/roman_black-gloss_pottery_from_the_capi.pdf. 
Esquilline Necropolis